Breakable
by abysmal2218
Summary: AU. 1xR "This isn't going to work out between us," he said, turning away from her. He was right about that. They wouldn't work out, but she wasn't going to let him win the writing assignment. Rated M for language and crude humor.
1. Chapter 1

_All right, here is my second attempt at an AU. I hope this one is a little better. This was actually an original idea, but I decided to turn it into a GW story to see how it does. And the characters fit nicely in it._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Her first day at the new school was a disaster. Not only had she fallen and spilled all of her notes and books across the entire hallway during passing period, but she sat alone at lunch. Not a single person tried to talk to her; not even in her classes. She was introduced in homeroom and everyone gave her a half -hearted 'hello', but that was the end of it. She had watched them the entire day and everyone seemed so busy, so complacent in their lives that no one seemed willing to allow an outsider in; even for a day. She had been the most loved person at her previous school, but now she felt so alone. She tried multiple times to converse with others, but she was shunned. She thought she wasn't speaking loud enough so she raised her voice a little louder. That's when the strange looks started.

When she walked home, she hung her head. She was not prone to hanging her head in such a manner, but her lonely walk home would be her only time to feel sorry for herself. The moment she walked into her house and saw her mother, she would plaster a smile on and make up new made friends. It would be difficult, but she had to pretend that the sudden move didn't devastate her. Although it had, she wasn't about to let her parents know. They really did make the best choice and she couldn't argue with them no matter how unfair she thought it was.

Just as she began crossing the street to her new home, a car drove passed, blaring music and the passengers screaming at the top of their lungs. She stood still, petrified that she was almost ran over and stared at the car as it zoomed down the slow speed street. How rude they were. Surely they could see her walking. Once they were out of sight and the echoing music faded, she let out a heavy sigh and started across the street again.

"Hello Relena, how was your first day of school?" Her mother asked excitedly, turning away from the remaining boxes in the living room. Relena didn't know why they didn't just hire people to help unpack. They had already hired people to pack and move them.

She put on her best smile, tossed her book bag to the floor and said as happily as she could, "It was wonderful! I made three new friends."

"Excellent, dear! It's not so scary, is it?"

Relena shook her head, turning away and started to climb the stairs to her new bedroom. It had been the most humiliating day of her life, but she would never speak of it to anyone. Ever.

Dinner that night was just as painful. Her father came home from his new job and spoke eagerly about how wonderful his new colleagues were. He was jubilant about the whole transition, but Relena began to think he was lying too. In her whole life, she had never seen him this happy after work. He was a politician. He wasn't paid to be happy at his job. However, she had discovered long ago that her parents spoke of their issues in private, as if she wasn't old or mature enough to learn the hard truths of adulthood. When her father asked her about her first day of school, she reacted the same way she did with her mother. She smiled brightly and began rattling off three girl names she had come up with while lying on her bed before dinner. She revisited old memories for a story to tell them. These three girls didn't exist and their behavior was much like her old friends, but she was sure she could fool her parents for the night. She hoped that her second day of school was a little better.

The next day, she held her head high again. She walked through the school, books and paper tucked neatly into her book bag so she wouldn't drop them again. She kept silent through her classes, taking notes and busying herself with her academics. She didn't want the others to think she was bothered. However, she decided that she would find someone that ate alone and join them. She didn't care if they were the leper of the school. She figured out that everyone deserves to have friends.

She walked through the cafeteria line, piling up her food eagerly and paid the grumpy lunch lady. She continued to smile, knowing that she was about to make a new friend. She stood around the cafeteria and looked around. She scanned over the sea of heads, all colors of brown, yellow and red. She tried to drown out the laughter and chatter of friends. She ignored the stares from the nearest tables. She ignored the girls that hid their whispering mouths behind their hands. Finally, she found a sole person in the back of the room. He sat there, staring out of the window and ate a small package of potato chips. His clothes were tattered and worn and his dark brown hair was a disheveled mess. She smiled sympathetically and confidently walked over to him.

"Hello," she said, setting her tray down on the table and sitting next to him. "I'm Relena Darlian."

The boy looked over at her, "Hn."

"I saw that you were sitting alone and decided to join you. Everyone needs a friend to sit with at lunch, right? Maybe we can become lunch buddies?" She laughed lightly, knowing that it sounded kindergartener, but it was her best shot. She had never been the first person to speak to a new friend.

"I have friends." He said rudely.

"I didn't say you didn't," Relena said defensively.

"I don't need your sympathy. I have plenty of friends. Leave me alone and go back to your friends." He stood up, crumbling his potato chip bag.

She hung her head sadly. She had failed at her first and now final attempt at making a friend. She wanted to apologize immediately, but she knew he was already gone. She sat there, staring at her tray of food and had no interest. This day had suddenly succeeded in being worse than yesterday.

* * *

He was fuming, mind racing with the outrageous thoughts that usually accompanied him. He didn't know what that girl wanted to talk to him. He was sure that her friends had put her up to it. Ever since he had been gone for a couple months last year, his classmates decided that whichever rumor they had heard was true. He was crazy. He was a drug addict. He was a military brat. The stories were crazy and none of them true. There was only one other person in this school that knew where he was and that person wasn't going to tell anyone.

He walked up the stairs and entered the first classroom. He knew his friends would be in there. They always were. The teacher was in the other room, sitting on his computer. His friends enjoyed their newspaper class too much to take a lunch. Most days he would take his lunch into their class, but today seemed like a good day to stare at outside on ground level. How wrong he was to think the cafeteria was the place he would get some solitude.

As he walked into the classroom, he saw his spiky haired friend leaning over the back of a chair, pointing at the computer screen and whispering in his platinum blond haired friend's ear. His confidant was lying on the floor, eating pretzels and humming an annoying tune they heard on the radio that morning.

"Heero!" his confidant exclaimed.

His other friend, whom he used the term friend loosely with, was Chinese; he was an exchange student and was the meanest of the bunch. Wufei peered over the cubicle of the other side, nodded and disappeared again. Trowa leaned away from the chair, waving lazily to their friend. Quatre didn't seem to hear his entrance.

"Come and join me, buddy!"

Heero sat next to Duo, his one and only true friend. This was the one person that knew his deepest and darkest secrets, but he was also the most annoying person Heero had ever met. They were friends by default.

"How was lunch in the big cafeteria? Meet any hot ladies?" Duo sat up, grabbing a handful of pretzels. Most of the time, Heero was convinced Duo could read his mind. Although the girl was more than likely toying with him he couldn't deny that she was pretty.

"Just the usual," Heero answered, taking one pretzel at a time.

"Speaking of hot ladies," Trowa said, joining them on the floor. "Annie told me about this party tomorrow night. I think we should go."

"Annie? You mean that one girl with the huge rack?"

"No, she's got nothing at all. You know, she's the one with the half shaved head."

"Oh! Why did she do that?"

The boys laughed, and continued on about their upcoming newspaper. They were the stars of it. Everyone always commented on their writing or their topics. The school newspaper was to be about the school, but somehow they always found ways to put in gossip or fun facts about the staff inside their stories. Heero wrote only one article for the newspaper, but the teacher had it removed since he wasn't technically in the class. Heero spent most of his lunch and after school time in the classroom so the teacher knew him well, but he wasn't allowed to write for them. The following week, Heero allowed Trowa to publish the article under his name instead of Heero's. The teacher never said another word.

Once the bell rang for lunch to be over and classes resume, Heero and his friends parted ways. He accompanied Quatre to their History class, but stopped in his tracks when he saw the girl walk into the same class. He hadn't realized they shared a class together. Today was also the day they got assigned a very large and very important report due by the end of the semester for half of their grade. It was also a group project. Heero had a very bad feeling about how his day was about to end.

Quatre noticed his friend stalling and turned around, "What's wrong?"

Heero cleared his throat, "Nothing, thought I just saw something."

Quatre frowned and looked behind him. The girl was now talking to Annie, the girl hosting the party. Annie was overly friendly to everyone, even the people no one spoke to. More than likely, the new girl was getting invited to the party. Quatre turned to look at him again, "Who is that girl?"

Heero cleared his throat again, "I don't know. You're the social butterfly so you should know."

The blond shook his head, "Must be new. I'll introduce us."

Heero cringed inside; taking a step back, but Quatre pulled him closer to the girls.

"Hi Annie!" Quatre shouted, waving to her. He had plastered on his charming and dazzling smile that all of their classmates loved. The Yearbook class had already informed him that he would be winning 'Best Smile' award by the end of the year.

"Hi Quatre, did you hear about my party?"

"I did, Trowa just told us. I think you can count on all of us coming."

"Wonderful! I just invited Relena Darlian here to come too. She's new and doesn't know anyone so I thought a party would be the best thing for her."

"Naturally, parties are always the best way to find out what people really are. Everyone's different at parties any way."

Annie nodded, the half of her head that had hair swung in encouragement, "So, do you think you'll come?"

"It's possible." The new girl, Relena smiled, but Heero felt her cerulean blue eyes on him.

The final bell rang and their teacher was staring at them now from his stool behind his podium. The four of them entered, feeling scrutinized… or it was just Heero.

* * *

Relena sat in the back of the class feeling exhilarated. She had finally spoken to someone other than that rude boy at lunch. She also had gotten invited to a party. She wasn't unknown to parties and knew what to expect, but this was a new town with new people. She smiled as the teacher explained their report. She didn't hear anything about what they were supposed to be writing about or that they were being paired up. She didn't realize that everyone was moving around until the rude boy sat beside her suddenly.

"Revolutionary War," he said, startling her out of her thoughts.

"What?"

"We'll be writing about the Revolutionary War. I know quite a bit about it and can write it in a night. This pairing up isn't necessary for this assignment."

"Well, what if I wanted to write about World War II?" She snapped, shocked he was still being rude.

He looked at her as if she was dumb. She scowled, pursing her lips and stared at him. She refused to let this boy think of her as dumb. She was quite intelligent and could write her own paper.

He turned, startling her scowl off of her face, "Listen, we're not going to agree on a lot of things. I think it's best if we just agree on this paper and let me write it. It's an easy A and no extra work for you."

"No, I like to work for my A's."

"This isn't going to work out between us," he said, turning away from her. He was right about that. They wouldn't work out, but she wasn't going to let him win the writing assignment.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Relena unpacked her many boxes of clothes the following night in a hurried manner. Annie was coming to pick her up any minute. She knew what was acceptable at high school parties. She knew her fancy dresses that she wore to her father's political parties weren't acceptable. In her final desperate attempt, she pulled on some denim jeans and her favorite pink shirt that was more comfortable than attractive. She heard Annie pull up and honk loudly.

Her mother opened her bedroom door, smiling, "Your friend is here. Have fun at the movies, dear."

Relena smiled, hating that she was already lying to her mother, but she would never be allowed to leave if her mother knew she was going to parties. Even in her old town, she had to lie to her parents about parties. "I will. I think I'm finally fitting it."

Her mother smiled and closed the door. Relena leaned against her open window and waved the Annie. The girl honked her horn again in response. Relena glanced at herself quickly in the mirror before leaving, smiling widely at finally having a friend and something to do. She took the stairs two at a time and left the front door wide open as she left. She didn't care. She was too happy to have a friend. As she walked down the steps of her front porch, she realized that Annie may not become a best friend. She may not even be a friend at all, but Relena knew that one person talking to you meant others would follow. Annie could fade away by the end of the night, but she knew that someone would come and replace her.

"Hello New Girl! Ready to get your freak on?"

Relena laughed, climbing into the small car and buckling her seat belt. Things in a small town weren't any different than the bigger city she had left. The streets were quieter and there were fewer restaurants to choose from, but that's as far as it went. Life was the same in every town.

"Are you going to be late for your own party?" Relena asked, hoping Annie didn't live too far from her.

"No, no. I picked you up an hour before everyone will arrive. You don't mind helping me set up, do you?" Annie asked speeding and turning wildly.

"Not at all! Thank you for inviting me!"

"Not a problem," she smiled slyly, "Quatre was asking a lot of questions about you after school. I think the Raberba prince likes you."

"Raberba prince? The blond guy?"

"Yeah, he's really rich and super nice to where it's kind of scary. He doesn't date because he thinks girls are after his money, but that's crazy. There was only one girl that tried to take advantage of that…. She was crazy."

"So nice he's scary? How is that possible?" Relena laughed, covering her mouth in attempt not to snort like she used to.

Annie shrugged and turned sharply into a driveway. The house was two story and white. There were lights on in every single window.

"Where are your parents?"

"Business trip," Annie said nonchalantly, exiting the car quickly. She ran up the front steps and burst through her front door. She already had music playing loudly from the kitchen that filled the entire house. It was music Relena wasn't familiar with, but had heard once or twice before. The house was clean and organized that it nearly matched Relena's neat freak mother. She began to wonder if Annie was a neat freak too or if her parents had left it like this.

"I mostly need help setting up the trays of drinks. Can you pour the shots? They should go on the silver trays."

Relena nodded and walked over to the formal dining room and saw shot glasses by the hundreds. Most were plain while others had cities or famous restaurants. Relena poured the vodka into the shot glasses, running out and grabbing a second, a third bottle for them all.

"Annie, how many people are coming?"

Dancing around with the broom, Annie just shrugged and continued on. Relena didn't think there were enough people in the school to use up all of the shot glasses.

Within the hour, after all of the shot glasses had been filled and set strategically around the house, their guests had arrived. The music got louder and Relena got lost in the crowd. She held a red plastic cup tightly against her chest and tried not to dump into anyone. She attempted to mingle with her classmates, but she continued to get the weird looks. In desperation, she looked for Annie. However, the moment some guy named Trowa showed up, she was gone. Relena could hear the desperate excitement in her voice when she tried to fix the one side of her hair. She tried to encourage her friend, but mostly felt envious that she was confident enough go up to someone and had a good conversation.

After a few hours of being rejected, Relena found herself standing in the corner beside the staircase. Everyone was trickling up and down the stairs and Relena had hoped Annie would appear eventually to work her magic and introduce her to some people. However, she was forced to stand next to two girls. One of them had long, platinum blonde hair that went down to her knees. She held a plastic cup in her hand like it was a fashion accessory. The other girl was crying, beautifully, but still crying. She had curly red hair and a flower headband in. Relena tried not to eavesdrop, but the crying girl went on and on about Trowa. That was the second time she had heard his name. She was wondering what was so amazing about him that so many girls would be interested in him.

The blonde girl was rude to her friend, "I don't understand why you're so upset. You knew when you came here with him, he'd leave. You're in college, Cathy! You have to be used to parties by now."

"I am! But—I don't—understand why he—would ditch me for a girl with no hair!?"

"He's a whore, Cathy. Ever since you left, he's been whoring around with a lot of girls. I've kept my eye on him for you and this school year hasn't been pretty. I mean, he is really hot, but every girl knows that he can't commit."

"Commitment in high school?" Relena blurted out. She covered her mouth in panic, not believing she had said anything at all.

The girls turned to her. The blonde cocking a forked eyebrow, "Yeah, there are some people who want commitment, even in high school."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to come out that way."

"Well, it did."

"I know, I'm so sorry," Relena wanted to hide from the world now. She couldn't keep her mouth shut about anything. She knew nothing about these girls and she was going to blurt out her amateur relationship advice. She wanted to bite off her tongue.

"What did you mean? You sounded condescending, so I think we deserve an explanation." Cathy said, wiping her tears away now.

Relena pinched herself for getting into this situation. She reached for a shot that was placed on the small table beside her and swallowed hard, "I just mean commitment isn't something we should be looking for in high school. Monogamy, yes, but not commitment."

"Why?" Cathy snapped.

"We're too young to be committed. We do deserve monogamy and all of that, but if you're fooling yourself into thinking that you'll find the love of your life in high school," Relena laughed, hating herself for it, "You haven't been outside of this town then."

Both girls crossed their arms and glared at her.

"I go to college. I've been outside of the pond of a town."

"Then you shouldn't have expected commitment from a high schooler while you were away."

Cathy and the blonde started laughing suddenly. The blonde covered her mouth as if to stifle the sound, "You think Catherine and Trowa are dating?!"

"I assumed so with the subject of conversation," Relena frowned, not sure what had just happened.

"Trowa is Cathy's brother! She came home to visit and he promised to take her to a party. Well, he did that, but ditched her almost as soon as they walked in."

"Oh!" Relena felt her cheeks heat up, "I'm an idiot. I'm sorry."

The girls sobered up. The blonde extended her hand, "I'm Dorothy Catalonia. You're new, right?"

"Yes," Relena took her hand willingly, "I'm Relena Darlian."

"Darlian? I've heard that name before…" Cathy said pensively.

"Hi Relena," A voice said from behind her suddenly. She turned and saw Quatre, the Raberba prince smiling at her. He had two red cups in his hand. She watched in slow motion as he handed her one. She smiled her best, fake political smile that she used for her father's business dinners. She accepted his drink but knew she wouldn't actually drink it. She never drank anything someone gave her. She watched as his mouth moved, speaking to her, but her eyes wondered over his shoulder.

There he was; the annoying, and self-righteous know-it-all, Heero Yuy. He was looking around the party in a bored manner. There was another guy hanging off of his shoulder that had long brown hair tied in a braid. She watched him, still trying to seem interested in what Quatre was saying, but he rambled on about classes and teachers that she didn't care about. They were all the same to her. She got good grades because she applied herself, not because of the teachers.

Heero looked over at her, causing her to look away quickly and forcing her to pay attention to the blond boy. She felt the two girls she had just met move closer, being very obvious that they were eavesdropping.

"Oh, hello Dorothy," Quatre said distastefully, looking over Relena's shoulder now.

"Hello Quatre, I see you were able to make it to the party. Surprising… you never liked to be in exposed areas." Dorothy snapped back.

"I wouldn't miss one of Annie's parties, besides, I know Relena is new and didn't know anyone so I wanted to be there to help introduce her."

"No need, we've decided to help her out." Dorothy said, clutching Relena's arm tightly and pulling her away from Quatre. The two girls that suddenly decided to be her friends pushed Quatre and walked into the party. They led her into the center of it all and leaned closer to her ear, "Don't associate yourself with him or his friends. Trowa is one of his friends and we know he has a reputation of a whore."

"What about Heero?" Relena asked, letting the question slip out before she could think about the consequences of it.

"Heero Yuy? You've met him?" Cathy asked, surprised.

"He's my partner in History and very rude to me. I tried to be friendly with him and he rejected it." Relena explained.

"Yeah, Heero doesn't like random people coming up to him. The only way he'll talk to you is if his friends introduce them to him." Cathy explained, smiling sympathetically.

"That's strange."

Dorothy had wandered off, but returned with three more red cups, "I think I made the Prince cry."

Relena was shocked, but Cathy laughed. She knew she's get an explanation, but Heero wedged himself between the girls, scowling at Relena.

"Hi Heero," she squeaked out.

"For being a new girl, you cause an awful lot of trouble. I think you should reconsider your friend choices before you give the wrong impression to the student body."

"Lighten up, Yuy!" Dorothy said, placing a hand on his forearm gently and seductively. He pulled away, moving even closer to Relena.

"Be careful, Darlian. People aren't who you think they are. Catalonia dated my friend for his money. Bloom is more territorial than a girlfriend to her brother. Don't fall into traps, Darlain." He walked away, leaving Relena confused and slightly offended.

"Paranoid much?" She heard Dorothy say to Cathy. "Is he always like that to you, Relena?"

She nodded, staring at his retreating back.

"I say we graffiti his car. He can't threaten our new political princess like that." Dorothy said, smirking mischievously.

* * *

_Finally got the second chapter up! I'm not promising quick updates like I usually do. This story is actually close to my heart so I want to take my time on it and do it justice._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

By Monday morning, Relena's guilt was overwhelming. She had followed Dorothy and Catherine out to the street where they easily found Heero's car. She didn't ask why Dorothy had shoe polish in her purse. She stood back and watched as the girls wrote obscene things on the windows and doors. She decided they needed a look out. No one was outside and if they were, everyone was enjoying the back yard that had a campfire and large porch. Dorothy and Catherine giggled uncontrollably as they worked. Finally, they asked Relena to participate. She had dreaded this moment. She knew that they wouldn't want to be her friend any more if she didn't, but she really didn't want to vandalize someone's property. Even though he was mean and rude to her, she didn't feel like this was the way to get back at him. She never felt revenge was a good solution.

"Oh, come on! He's been nothing but rude to you! It's shoe polish! It comes off," Dorothy coaxed.

Relena didn't know if she told the truth or not, but it sounded convincing enough. It came off, right? Nodding slowly, she bent down next to the girls and tried to think of something vulgar to write. She was never keen on profanities, but she racked her brain for something insulting. She had heard someone reference a beaver once and decided to draw it as artistically as she could. Dorothy and Catherine laughed, taking the polish away from her and running.

Relena followed, panic searing through her in hopes that they hadn't been caught. The three of them piled into a small car, gold accessories littering that interior, laughing hysterically. No one had followed them.

"Where should we go? That party was boring." Dorothy said, starting up the car.

"I can't go home. My parents will want to talk to me," Catherine said, laughing.

"We could go to my house. My parents won't bother us," Relena offered. She would be happy to have company in their house now.

Now, Monday was upon them and Relena avoided the cafeteria at all costs. She was glad that the only class she had with Heero was the last one of the day and she had heard through the grapevine that they were watching a movie. She was happy for this news. Usually she despised movies, but today she didn't want to have to speak to Heero about their assignment. She wanted to avoid Heero in any way she could.

Dorothy had a few classes with her, to her surprise. After their first class, Dorothy came up to her laughing, "Duo told me off for the graffiti on Heero's car. I explained that I was innocent."

"Dorothy, you should have apologized."

"No! He needs to learn some manners. Being crazy or whatever isn't a good excuse to treat people like crap."

"He's crazy?"

"Uh yeah, he went to some loony bin for a few months last year."

"That's not nice, Dorothy."

The blonde shrugged, walking off which meant Relena was to follow her to their next class. "What do you want to do today? Other than wallow in guilt about vandalizing Yuy's car."

Relena huffed heavily, "I have a lot of homework to do. Afterward, we might be able to do something."

"Pfft, brownnoser. You shouldn't work so hard, Relena. This is our last year of school and you want to waste it by studying for a college you already got into?"

"Not the point, Dorothy. I still want to keep my grades up."

"Uh, whatever."

They separated once inside the classroom. Relena took the seat in the back of the classroom like she always did while Dorothy sat with other girls. Relena wasn't sure if she was ready to merge into Dorothy's group yet. She was still trying to figure out whether or not this platinum blonde would be a good friend or not. So far, she was proving not to be.

She watched as her classmates filed into the room, trying to brace herself for when Heero would walk in. She had practiced her poker face all weekend. When guilt took over her, she had a tendency to speak a lot and ramble in apologies once she was found out. She was afraid that this would be no different.

"Okay everyone," the teacher said, quieting the classroom once the bell rang. "I'm sure all of you know that we'll be watching a movie today. It's actually very educational so I hope all of you will pay attention. There will be a quiz tomorrow over the movie."

Relena smiled lightly, straightening her back on the seat while everyone else groaned in disappointment. As the lights turned off, desks moved and hushed whispers filled the room as the opening theme started to play. She recognized the movie immediately and became engrossed. She saw movement beside her but paid no attention. She flipped open her notebook and started scribbling notes that she thought would be on the quiz. As the actors mentioned factual dates and events, she wrote them down along with the character that said them. However, after several minutes of the movie, action rose and she forgot the notebook. Once the action settled down, she reached for the notebook again, but it was gone. Her bare arms met with the cold top of the desk instead of the warmth of the paper. She panicked, checking the floor beside her in case she had knocked it off. But there, scribbling in her notebook was Heero. His dark blue eyes fixed on the TV, but his hands moving quickly.

Without asking for it back, she ripped it away from him, rolling her eyes at his rudeness. In curvy handwriting that was uncharacteristic to him, she saw a note:

_ I know you did it. I expect payment or some kind of reimbursement for the paint that came off with it. Also, what was with the beav-_

Relena felt her cheek flush and felt rushed to reply back. Heero pulled out his own notebook and, to cover the fact that they were writing notes, finished his note. Relena tilted her notebook for Heero to read:

_ I will pay anything you want. I was told show polish wouldn't damage your car. I only drew the beaver because I couldn't think of anything mean to say._

_ A beaver isn't mean. And that wasn't shoe polish. Like I said, be careful with whom you hang out with._

Relena scowled at his note. She wasn't sure she could trust Dorothy, but Heero was definitely someone she didn't trust. She feeling that Heero and Dorothy may have dated for a while and things ended badly. She ignored his warning and wrote:

_ What do you want me to do? I don't have the money to repaint your car._

Heero smirked, looking around the room to check for the teacher before replying with:

_ How about I come over to your house so we can thoroughly discuss the topic of our report?_

Relena cocked an eyebrow and looked at him. That was it? All he wanted as payment was whatever topic he wanted to write about? That wasn't a fair trade. She'd more than likely be able to weasel money out of her parents to fix the paint on his car.

The day ended with the shrill sound of the bell. Relena had written down her address for Heero and passed it off to him without a second thought. She was game for anything when it came to schoolwork. Dorothy joined her in the hallway, smiled brightly.

"Have you decided to come over after school or not?"

Relena shook her head, "I can't. I have homework and Heero's coming over so we can work on the history report."

"Heero?" Dorothy stopped dead in her tracks, "You have got to be kidding me. He's rude to you all the time and you invited him over to your house?"

"As payment for ruining his car; by the way, what did you use on his car? He said it wasn't shoe polish."

Dorothy stuck her nose up in the air and walked off without answering her. Relena slowed her steps I rejection. She didn't see why the blonde was upset. She had only asked a question. She saw Dorothy stop at some other girl's locker and started whispering in her ear. The other girl laughed, forgetting her opened locker and turned away from it. Relena tried not to get too paranoid about it. Surely Dorothy had other things to talk about than her study habits with Heero Yuy.

She brushed the rejection off, raising her head as she passed them by. She walked home alone and was glad to see Heero's black car sitting out front when she arrived.

"This isn't a date," he said as she came closer.

She stopped, staring at him confusedly, "I know. I never said it was."

"Well, word spread around already that we were going on a date. This isn't a date."

"Dammit! I'm really starting to think you're right about Dorothy."

Heero smirked, pulling his book bag right on his shoulder and started to follow her up the steps to her home. The door opened and she called for her mother. Peering from the kitchen, her mother waved and looked surprised when her eyes fell onto Heero.

"Company?"

"He's my history partner so we have to work on the writing assignment," Relena explained, feeling flustered.

"Dorothy called just a minute ago. She wanted to know if you wanted to get pizza tonight."

"No, I don't." Relena snapped, marching up the stairs. Heero nodded to her mother and followed her up. Her room was spacious, but it suddenly felt too small with Heero now in her room.

"I can't believe she had the guts to do that. Who does she think she is?"

"Dorothy Catalonia, the richest girl in school."

"Did you say Catalonia?" Relena sat up, racking her brain for why that name sounded familiar.

"Yeah, surely she told you that much. She can't help herself when it comes to introductions. She dated Quatre for a month and he had met her entire political family by the time he ended it. I'm sure she only wants to be friends with you because you're a Darlian."

"Political? That's it! Her grandfather works with my father. I knew I've heard the name Catalonia before. I guess I didn't put two and two together at the party."

He nodded, walking around her room in a bored fashion.

"And here I thought you and Dorothy dated," she laughed nervously, still wondering if they had.

"No, I wouldn't date her."

For some reason, she felt her shoulders relax slightly. She didn't want to get in the middle of their love quarrel. "Anyway, what topic would you like to write about?"

Her bedroom door burst open suddenly; Dorothy's long hair swinging behind her as if she had ran up the steps, "As your only real friend in this school, I know you need someone to be here for you so Heero doesn't try to take advantage of you. Who knows what he thinks is right and wrong!"

"Excuse me?" Relena asked, straightening her spine at the intrusion.

"Heero Yuy has a bit of a reputation, Relena. I tried to spare you the hard truth, but you just won't listen." Relena scowled, not wanting to hear a word of it. "He's a rapist. He raped one of my friends last year. He wasn't in a loony bin, but in juvenile jail for it. He had a lot of nerve coming back to this school."

"Lie!" Heero yelled, pushing himself off of her desk and strode closer to her.

"I know the truth, Yuy. She told me what happened. She told me how you climbed on top of her and held her down."

"Get out!" Relena yelled, pointing a stern finger at her door. "Dorothy, I want you out. I have only known you for a couple days and you have already caused more trouble than I can bear."

She upturned her nose, glaring at Heero one last time.

Relena waited until she heard the front door close before questioning Heero. Something in her told her to get answers from Heero. Dorothy had already told the whole school about her and Heero studying together. Dorothy was the last person she wanted to trust now.

"Is it true?"

"No."

"What happened then?" She sat on her bed, crossing her arms.

"She tried to rape me. She had bruises on her arms from where I was holding her off of me. I didn't want to do it with her because it would ruin a friendship. I need friends more than I need sex, Relena."

* * *

_Sorry about the delay! I finally had the time and inspiration to write it. _


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Relena was lying on her stomach, pencil dangling from her teeth as she read over the same paragraph that she had been for the past hour. Not a word was sinking in as her mind raced with theories. She didn't know too many people in the school so she wasn't sure who had caused such a stir with Heero. However, Heero seemed engrossed in his history book, flipping pages quickly to find all of the facts for the report. He didn't have to beg Relena to change the topic. She was more than willing to change it so she would be forgiven for the car graffiti.

The sky had darkened by the time Relena finally gave up with the paragraph. She slammed her book shut and watched Heero write. It was the first time she actually allowed herself to look at him and study his features. It was the first time she realized that he was an attractive teenager. His unruly brown hair hung down into his eyes that seemed almost planned. His slightly slanted eyes that hinted some Asian heritage, but the dark blue of it made Relena think he was only a fraction of it. Perhaps his mother would have his similar eyes.

She had forgotten that she was staring when Heero turned his gaze to her and cleared his throat. She felt her cheeks flush and pulled the pencil from her mouth, "Sorry, I'm just having a hard time getting into this topic."

"It's okay. It's not for everyone. I'm sure we'll put the teacher to sleep while he reads it."

She smiled, opening the book again and trying to refocus her mind. They fell silent again; Heero scribbling notes to break the silence. It wasn't until Relena had wondered off into the book that an idea struck her. "It was Catherine!"

"What?" Heero asked, peering away from his book to look at her doodles she called notes.

"Catherine! She's the one that tried to rape you!"

He sighed heavily, "You're still on that?"

"Yes, and I'm not sorry, but I couldn't figure out why anyone would do such a thing to you? You're not as mean as you try to be." Relena huffed, giving up on the report altogether.

"She didn't try to rape me. She did try to take advantage of me, but rape is a word I want to avoid when explaining this. I knew she would try something with me since she had already told Trowa she wanted to. He told me to steer clear of her. Well, I'm pretty sure that after I rejected her, she ran to Dorothy. They decided to cover the bruises up with me trying to take advantage of her. It's a bit extreme, but it screams Dorothy."

"How do you know all of this?"

He hesitated, shifting uncomfortably, "Richard told me."

"Who's Richard?"

"A teacher; he knows a lot about the students."

"Does he know me?"

"Not too much yet, but he said I could trust you. He also told me to keep you safe."

She smiled, "Thanks for that, especially now that I found out my only two friends are crazy. Who will I hang out with now?"

He cleared his throat, sitting up, "They aren't much, but they're good. I can let you borrow my friends."

Relena laughed loudly, "Thanks! I would love to borrow friends."

They worked through the night, falling asleep on the floor and using the books as pillows. Relena's mother must have checked on them at one point because when Relena awoke the next morning, she was covered with a blanket. So was Heero. It wasn't promiscuous, but she had never had a boy stay the night. She sat up, looking around to check for the time and was glad to see that they would still be on time for school. She shook Heero awake, smiling as she watched him become aware of his surroundings.

"Sorry, I fell asleep. I didn't mean to stay the night." He said, rubbing his eyes and packing his book bag.

"It's fine. I fell asleep too," She stretched, relieving the aches in her neck and back from the floor. "Would you give me a ride to school?"

He nodded, yawning.

Relena offered him a T-shirt that she had stolen from one of her old classmates. It was a boy's shirt, but it was old. He thanked her and she was glad that it fit him nicely. She even murmured that he could keep it. Heero waited in the living room as she changed clothes. She could smell the aromas of breakfast from the kitchen all the way up the stairs. Relena never knew why her mother woke up so early every morning when she had nothing to do. The woman could literally sleep all day long if she wanted, but she woke up before Relena.

When she appeared dressed and ready for school, Heero was sitting at the small table in the kitchen, eating the breakfast her mother had made. Her mother was talking to him about college and his academics in high school. She heard his muffled replies, saying he had top grades, but he was still undecided on a college.

This seemed to have horrified her mother.

"You need to hurry. Relena's already been accepted into Romafeller University."

"Mom, I'm sure Heero hears enough about colleges from his parents." Relena gave him a sympathetic look.

"Well, he needs to be reminded that college is expected from him. I've always told you that much and now look at you; top of the class and accepted into the finest school in this country before you even graduated high school."

Relena rolled her eyes, taking a piece of bacon from Heero's plate and begging him to finish so they could make their escape. However, as they made their exit from the house, they forgot to check the time. Once Relena buckled the seat belt in Heero's car, she groaned that they still had a half hour before the doors would even open.

"It's not a problem. We can go over to Duo's."

"I don't know who Duo is…" Relena admitted.

"He's my friend and we have to give him a ride."

"Daily routine?"

Heero nodded, starting the car. The drive to Duo's house was short, seeing as the town was small and nearly everyone felt like neighbors, other than the country kids who lived miles apart from their neighbors. Heero didn't knock on the door, entering without any kind of introduction. Relena was hesitant. She had never entered any of her friends' homes without knocking first.

"Make yourself at home," Heero said, walking straight into the kitchen and raiding the refrigerator. Relena frowned, wondering how a slim boy could eat so much.

"Hey! Don't eat all of the cereal! I still haven't had any." A male voice called from somewhere within the house. Footsteps thundered down stairs and Relena turned to see a boy taller than Heero and a long braid jump the remaining steps and take off running. She couldn't imagine doing something like that; she'd sprain her ankle for sure.

Relena wasn't even sure what had happened, but the next thing she knew Duo was throwing Heero against the cabinets and both boys held a box of cereal. Heero grunted, pushing himself off of the cabinets and lunged at his friend. She heard skin hit skin, but there weren't screams of pain. The longer she watched the boys fight, the more she realized that they must do this every morning.

"I said no!" the boy named Duo yelled, kicking Heero in the chest.

"Good morning," a woman's voice said, entering the kitchen and walked between them. The fighting stopped instantly.

"Good morning, Ma." Duo and Heero answered in unison. Grabbing two bowls from the cabinet, she poured the cereal equally and left the room.

"Oh! Hey, Relena!"

She waved, uncomfortably. She heard Heero say, "Don't."

"I was wondering where you were last night, Buddy. I guess that explains it."

"Watch yourself," Heero growled, walking out of the kitchen to sit on the couch. He motioned for Relena to sit with him.

Duo continued to stand, smiling brightly at the two of them. She waited for them to finish eating before she prompted the earlier conversation. She had no idea who Duo was, but he seemed to know her. She was curious about this long haired boy who hadn't stopped smiling at her since he saw her. She was still a little startled that they had, quite literally, fought over cereal. Boys were strange.

Duo clank the last bit of cereal around the bowl, still watching her and Heero. Heero cleared his throat as he stood up, glaring at Duo. Peacefully, they placed their empty bowls in the sink and walked back into the living room. Relena didn't want to seem too eager to get to school, but their time was starting to run out of getting there on time. She had never been late to a class before. The thought unnerved her.

She wiped her hands together slowly, thinking of the best way to get them to realize the time. She was also growing uncomfortable.

"I-," Relena started to say.

"So Relena," Duo interrupted. "I heard you shot down Quatre."

Quatre? Is that how he knew her? Were they friends? She didn't know how to respond, so she didn't.

"Nah, it's all right. He was just hoping to make a good impression on you before Dorothy got a hold of you. She likes to sink her claws into the new kids pretty quickly."

"We have to go to school," Heero said, interrupting Duo before the conversation could go any further. Relena was confused; she was the one that started talking to Dorothy in the first place. She had barely spoken to Quatre enough to 'reject' him.

The three of them walked out of the house, Duo whispering hastily into Heero's ear as they neared the car. Relena scowled, already feeling like she was intruding. Duo allowed her to sit in the passenger seat and he took the back. He didn't buckle his seatbelt. He didn't remove his book bag either. He leaned forward, grasping the back of the seat as Heero took off and started talking again.

"So, I know you're new and all that, but I was wondering if you'd do me a favor?"

Relena raised an eyebrow, astounded by his audacity. This was the first time she had spoken to him and he was already asking for favors? She didn't have any money, so he was out of luck there. She wasn't political, so he couldn't acquire fame from her either.

"There's this girl….," He said, scratching the top of his head, "Hilde Schbeiker and…"

"You want me to talk to her for you?" She guessed the rest of his favor for him. He smiled brightly at her and folded his hands together in a pray. She wanted to roll her eyes, but look at Heero instead. He smiled gently and encouragingly. "Okay. You'll have to point her out to me."

Duo hugged her from behind, startling her enough to make her squeak. "Girls get it!"

She saw Heero roll his eyes this time, parking the car abruptly. Dup tumbled out, ecstatic. Together they walked across the parking lot, but it wasn't until they were by the doors that Duo grabbed her by the shoulders and whispered, "There she is."

Relena looked over and saw a cute girl with short black hair and large violet eyes. She had seen this girl before, but she was always smiling and speaking quickly to other people. Relena never thought about talking to her. She passed her in the hallway once and heard her speak in a harsh sounding language. Now, for Duo and Heero, she was going to approach her. But…what if this girl didn't speak English?

Shrugging her shoulders back to exude confidence, she looked over her shoulder to Heero. He wore a ghost of a smile, but she could see it just for her.

She opened the door and smiled, "Hey Hilde."

The girl stopped, waving to her friends as they walked away to class, "Hey, you're the new girl, right?"

Relena nodded; surprised that Hilde had noticed her at all. Before she knew it, Hilde had linked their arms together and led her down the hallway, talking quickly about the school and all of the extracurricular activities the school offered.

* * *

_Okay, whew! I got this out. I was appalled to see how much I had written already when I pushed it aside. Still won't make promises on how often I'll update this, but I know it won't be months before it happens._


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